Google reportedly developing new software for the Internet of Things

Will it be a fork of Android? Will it even be Android or some variation of sorts? We have absolutely no idea. All that we know thanks to The Information is that it has a likelihood of appearing at Google I/O next week. It’s Google’s own effort to also have something reading to power the over 100 billion small smart devices that Huawei forecasts will make up the Internet of Things by the year 2025.

What baffles many is that Google is already known to have invested heavily towards this end with home automation through Nest being one of its top priorities even as it builds its massive smartphone empire and advances in other projects like its driverless cars which aren’t doing badly and are expected to enter mass production by the year 2020. How different will the new platform be from the current resource intensive Android?

While the software is expected to be an extremely stripped down version of Android that will run on devices with a minimum of 32 MB storage, down from the current 512 MB smartphone standard, it could as well turn out to be anything. By comparison, Huawei’s own solo effort which it will be giving to IoT device makers for free as it seeks to create a similar platform, LiteOS, will need just a tiny fraction of that reported 32 MB. It will require just 10KB.

I/O 15 is just a week away and Google’s plans for IoT as well as the rumoured Android M and its quest for a smart connected future with Android Auto, its driverless cars, the overhauled Glass and more are likely to be revealed then. We’ll wait to hear more about Project Brillo.